Hot or cold, Scelzi is set for Dallas

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2005 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 21 of 23
O'REILLY NHRA FALL NATIONALS
Texas Motorplex
Dallas, Texas
Race Dates: Oct. 7-9, 2005


DALLAS (Oct. 5, 2005) - Before the O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals were
postponed because of Hurricane Rita, the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
teams were expecting 100-degree-plus conditions at the Texas Motorplex. Now,
the weather reports for this weekend's rescheduled event are calling for
temperatures in the 70s.

"If the weather really does cool down this weekend in Dallas it will be
great," said Funny Car points leader Gary Scelzi, driver of the Mopar/Oakley
Dodge Stratus R/T. "Even if it doesn't, that's OK, because we can run in the
heat."

Although he has a 43-point lead over 13-time Funny Car champion John Force
following his semifinal finish at Route 66 Raceway on Sunday, Scelzi knows
his competition is right there ready to attack. Force is on his heels in
second, his teammate Ron Capps is two more points behind, and the rest of
the Force team contingent of Robert Hight and Eric Medlen trails just 70 and
100 points back. 

"It is exciting," said Scelzi, who is seeking his first Funny Car
championship to go with his three Top Fuel crowns. "One, because it's Funny
Car, and, two, to dethrone any one of Force's cars that have had such a
command on the Funny Car championship over the years is a big thing."

Does he have butterflies? "What I found in Reading (Pa., where he reached
the semis and padded his points lead) was that the more nervous I got the
better I felt." he replied. "It was a change. Yes, I was edgy, I was
nervous, but I was enjoying it. I was enjoying the challenge and I was
enjoying the pressure.

"It was almost to the point where now the nervousness is making me want to
fight more, like dig deeper and say, You know what? You can win
championships, you've done it before, you love this stuff - just keep
telling yourself over and over.

"And it was working. So, if Dallas is anything like Reading and Chicago was,
my mindset is ready to go the distance. And I think (crew chief) Mike Neff,
the way he's been tuning the Mopar/Oakley Dodge, shows he's ready to go the
distance."

The Fresno, Calif., native is also looking forward to a good track surface
at the Texas Motorplex. "Dallas has been ground, which has taken some bumps
out of the surface, which should be really good," he said.

"And we don't know [for sure] what the weather is going to do. But, being
that it's all concrete, it's going to be 10 degrees cooler than any asphalt
race track. So it should be good no matter what the weather or the
temperature is, all the way to the finish line.

"And I'm sure grinding the bumps out is also going to help keep the Goodyear
tires stick. 

"Every race from here until the end of the season will be a challenge. The
important thing is to at least get to the finals. It's not 'get past the
first round or get to the semis.' You need to get to the final round in case
it is one of your (championship) opponents, because you're only going to
lose 20 points in that case.

"The whole idea is to win the race. Our goal is the same: qualify well and
get the job done at the end."

Scelzi's record at the Texas Motorplex includes three Top Fuel wins (1998 2,
1999 and 2000) and three No. 1 Top Fuel qualifiers (1998, 2000 1 and 2). He
has not won a Fuel Funny Car event here.

GARY SCELZI QUICK FACTS:
* Leading the 2005 Funny Car points after 20 races; has three wins (Bristol,
Chicago 1 and Sonoma); was low qualifier four times (Las Vegas, Atlanta, St.
Louis and Reading)
* Is in fierce battle with 13-time champion John Force, rookie Robert Hight,
teammate Ron Capps and Eric Medlen for 2005 Funny Car crown; is 43 points
ahead of Force in second, 45 points ahead of Capps in third, 70 ahead of
Hight in fourth, and 100 in front of Medlen in fifth
* If he wins the Funny Car championship this year he will become only the
second NHRA driver to have won crowns in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. Kenny
Bernstein is the first.
* Qualified third at the 2004 O'Reilly NHRA Nationals; lost second round to
Cruz Pedregon
* Has no Funny Car wins here, three Top Fuel wins (1998 2, '99 and '00), has
qualified No. 1 in Top Fuel three times (1998, 2000 1 and 2)
* Is a member of the largest team in NHRA pro history: Don Schumacher
Racing, with nine teams - two in Top Fuel, three in Funny Car, two in Pro
Stock, two in Pro Stock Motorcycle (all four pro categories)
* Is first Funny Car driver to break the 330-mph barrier (330.15 mph at
Route 66 Raceway in 2004)
* Career Funny Car bests: 4.697-second ET (Chicago 2 '05), 331.53 mph
(Pomona '05)
* Third in 2004 Funny Car points, with three wins in six final rounds
* Qualified in top five nine times in 2004, No. 1 once
* Age 45, born and raised in Fresno, Calif., where he lives with wife
Julianne and sons Dominic and Giovanni
* Dominic, 8, races Junior Sprints
* Runs Scelzi Enterprises, a custom truck body design and manufacturing
business in Fresno with his two brothers
* Is a three-time Top Fuel Dragster champion
* Won his first Top Fuel crown as a rookie
* Has seven Funny Car wins, 25 Top Fuel wins
* Sixth in 2003 Funny Car points, his first full season in that class
* 2005 is his third straight season racing for Don Schumacher Racing
* Is the only NHRA driver to have won in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Top Alcohol
Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car. He accomplished this feat at Infineon
Raceway in 2003
* Is one of the few Funny Car drivers who has a round winning record against
the 13-time Funny Car champion John Force: 9-8, 3-1 in final rounds